What You Need To Know About External Parasites

 

Based on the risk factors indicated for each external parasite listed below, rate your pet's exposure risk by checking YES or NO.  If you check YES to any risk factors, your pet should be placed on an external parasite preventative program.

 

FLEAS

Is My Pet At Risk?

 YES     NO

FLEAS There are over 2,200 species and subspecies of fleas.  The most common fleas found on dogs and cats in North America are the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) and the dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis).  However, the most common flea found on both cats and dogs is the cat flea whereas the dog flea is found infrequently on dogs and almost never on cats. 

 

Research has shown that an adult female flea will not leave the host voluntarily because she is dependent upon a constant blood source for reproduction.  On the host, the female flea is able to survive and reproduce for 3 to 4 months.  If the flea is removed from the host, she will stop reproducing and will die in 2 to 4 days.

 

Health Concerns:

Fleas can be carriers of tapeworms.  Fleas are also a common cause of allergic skin dermatitis in animals that have allergic reactions to flea saliva.

 

Life Cycle: 

There are four stages to the life cycle of fleas.  

Stage 1 is the egg stage.  The reproducing flea can produce from 20 to 50 eggs every day equating to more than 2,000 eggs over a lifetime.  Although the eggs are laid in the hair coat of the host, they easily fall off the host, thus infecting the environment.  Eggs usually hatch in 1 to 6 days.

Stage 2 is the larval stage.  Flea larvae will feed on organic debris in the environment including feces of adult fleas which contains dried and partially processed host blood.  Flea larvae seek dark places such as deep in carpet fibers or under organic debris such as branches and leaves.  The larval stage lasts 5 to 11 days during which time the flea larvae goes through two molts and transforms into a pupae.

Stage 3 is the pupal stage:  It takes 7 to 14 days for the pupae to fully develop inside a cocoon.  However the fully developed flea can stay inside the cocoon for several days to several weeks (about 120 days) until the flea is stimulated to emerge.  Stimuli include physical pressure, carbon dioxide, vibration, and heat which the flea interprets as the arrival of a suitable host.  The emergence of fleas from the pupal stage is staggered over 2 to 4 weeks rather than all at once.

 

Risk Factors: All dogs and cats are at risk if they come in contact with fleas in the environment or on an infested host.  Flea carrying stray cats and squirrels are frequent sources of contamination as they move throughout the neighborhood and contaminate the environment that house pets are then exposed to on walks or in backyards. Although humans are not primary hosts for fleas, fleas will jump onto humans for a blood meal until a primary host can be found. 

 

Preventatives:

Advantage flea preventative is recommended for all dogs and cats that may be exposed to fleas.

Advantage Multi for dogs and cats provides flea prevention as well as prevention against heartworm disease.

Sentinel heartworm and parasite preventative is an excellent alternative for dogs.

Frontline flea and tick preventative is recommended for all dogs and cats that may be exposed to both fleas and ticks.

 

Credits:  Bruce D. Klink, VMD and Kraig Stemme, DVM, Fleas from A to Z, MerialEDU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TICKS

Is My Pet At Risk?

 YES     NO

TICKS are not insects, they are parasitic invertebrates.  There are several species of ticks but the species that is of most concern to humans and pets in Michigan is the Deer Tick.

 

Health Concerns: 

The wounds caused by tick bits are often painful, of long duration, and frequently lead to secondary infection.  Dogs are at risk of tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.  Cats are at risk of feline tick-borne diseases such as Feline haemobartonellosis which affects the cat's red blood cells.

 

Deer Tick are carriers of Lyme disease which affects dogs and humans.  Lyme disease can affect multiple organ systems, including the skin, nervous system, heart, and joints.  Lyme disease in humans is now the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, with more than 122,000 cases reported between 1990 and 1999.  The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has documented Lyme disease throughout the United States.  The CDC reports that prevalence of Lyme disease is heaviest in areas of the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic coast, upper Midwest and the Northwest.

 

Life Cycle:

The immature stages of the tick resemble the adults in general form, but are smaller.  The tick will shed its outer covering several times as it grows, feeding on a host prior to each shedding.  Ticks eggs are laid and hatched in the environment rather than on the host.  The reproducing female can produce over 22,000 eggs in a single egg-laying event.

 
Risk Factors: All dogs, cats, and humans are at risk of contracting vector-borne diseases if they come in contact with ticks.  Ticks are generally found in tall grassy, wooded areas.  Ticks attach themselves to the skin of hosts for blood meals.    The toothed anchoring structures in their mouths enable them to embed their entire head under the skin of the host.  If a tick is carelessly pulled off, the head often remains embedded in the skin of the host.

 

Preventatives: 

Frontline flea and tick preventative is recommended for all dogs and cats that may be exposed to ticks.

 

Credits:  Bruce D. Klink, VMD and Kraig Stemme, DVM, Ticks from A to Z, MerialEDU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EAR MITES

Is My Pet At Risk?

 YES     NO

EAR MITES is a mite that does not burrow but lives on the surface of the skin inside the ear.. 

 

Health Concerns:

As the ear mites feed, the lining of the ear canal is irritated and the canal fills with cerumen, blood, and mite debris.  This discharge has the classic coffee grounds appearance.  Clinical symptoms are variable, especially in cats.  Common signs of an ear mite infection include:

  • excessive wax in one or both ears accompanied by

  • excessive scratching at the ears

  • excessive shaking of the head

Life Cycle:

The life cycle lasts 3 weeks.  After a 4-day incubation, the egg hatches to produce a six-legged larva.  The larva actively feeds for 3 to 10 days, rests for 10 to 30 hours, and hatches into the protonymph which has eight legs.  After a simple active and resting stage, the protonymph molts into the deutonymph.  Female deutonymphs attach with adult males and become egg bearing.  Adult ear mites have approximately a 2-month life span.

 

Risk Factors:   Ear mites are highly contagious and especially prevalent in the young.  Ear mites are most commonly found in kittens and outdoor cats, although dogs can be infected.  Since ear mites are not host specific all contact animals should be presumed to be infected. 

 

Preventatives: 

Cats:  Advantage Multi is a monthly topical medication that protects against ear mites, heartworms, and several internal parasites.

Dogs: There are no ear mite preventatives currently available for dogs.

 

Treatment:

There are medications available to treat both dogs and cats who test positive for ear mites.